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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25507759">i can't catch up, my love (because you've got the zoomies and you're so damn fast)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel'>DaniJayNel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Catra accidentally tries catnip, Catra then gets the intense zoomies, Cuddles, F/F, Fluff, Oneshot, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:16:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,275</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25507759</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Curious, Catra shoved her hand in and brought a handful up to her nose. The second she inhaled the rich, sweet scent, she could physically feel her pupils blowing wide open. Her hand froze, open, and the crushed bits twirled to the ground. Catra stared down at her feet, her tail whizzing left and right. </p><p>Without a second thought, Catra dropped down onto the bag, tearing it open and spilling it everywhere, and then she rolled and twisted and promptly blacked out. </p><p>or</p><p>At Perfuma's party, Catra stumbles across her experimental bag of catnip. Chaos, of course, ensues.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>445</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i can't catch up, my love (because you've got the zoomies and you're so damn fast)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Remember kids, don't do drugs. Cats get a hard pass and can do as they please. I had so much fun writing this. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Catra took casual sips from her drink as she stared at the nearby fountain. She wasn’t a huge fan of water in general, and Adora had spent many an afternoon physically fighting her to finally bathe. She absolutely hated how her fur felt when wet, and she also hated how much Adora loved it. Cute? She wasn’t cute. She was a former Commander of the goddamn Horde. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t drink too much,” Adora whispered into her ear, an arm slipping around Catra’s waist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra leaned back into her and soaked in the warmth from Adora’s firm body. “You can’t tell me what to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora laughed. “It was a suggestion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra downed the rest of her drink just to be a brat, then held it up for Adora to see. “Suggestion rejected. And this is just fruit juice, so relax.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora did, dropping her chin on Catra’s shoulder. “Today has been so nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra stared out at the courtyard and watched the many couples dancing, the few odd singles here and there. Sea Hawk was attempting to grind against Mermista, but she looked like she would rather be literally anywhere else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfuma can organize a party, I guess,” she admitted. “I’m glad we came.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora moved to stand beside her, but they were still pressed together. Her smile was soft, and the sight of it made Catra’s chest feel impossibly warm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See?” Adora told her, glancing over. Catra felt like she could drown in the endless blue of her eyes, and she was completely fine with that. “You didn’t even want to come.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra rolled her eyes, but she didn’t argue. Adora was right. When they’d received the invitation, she had refused. Adora’s pleadful eyes and promises to do whatever Catra wanted for the duration of a single day, whenever she so pleased, was the only reason she eventually decided to join them. The prospect of staying at Brightmoon on her own was also a deciding factor, and Catra knew she would miss Adora too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A light breeze kicked up, brushing against the tufts of hair at her elbow. Catra’s nose twitched when she caught a sweet, tantalizing scent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Adora. Do you smell that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora lifted her nose and sniffed. “Uh... the flowers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sniffed again. “I can’t smell anything other than the flowers. They’re everywhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra frowned. Maybe it was just another floral scent. After She-Ra unleashed Etheria’s magic, a lot of once extinct plants and animals returned. Maybe that was it. But, Catra felt an itch in her throat and she knew she needed to investigate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be back,” she mumbled, then she released the cup for Adora to take and started off in the direction the breeze had come. Thankfully, Adora didn’t follow her because Sea Hawk had made his way over to grind against </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and Catra only briefly considered staying long enough to laugh at them, but then another breeze curled that scent around her and she needed to find out what it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wandered around aimlessly, just sniffing the air, until she came to a greenhouse that was filled to the brim with many different plants. She entered the unlocked door and continued sniffing. The scent was all around her, then, and Catra could already feel her heartbeat kicking up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A very small, rational part of her brain startled in alarm. She didn’t know what these plants did, and if they were dangerous, and should leave. But then Catra found it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t a plant, but crushed remnants of it. An entire bag. Curious, Catra shoved her hand in and brought a handful up to her nose. The second she inhaled the rich, sweet scent, she could physically feel her pupils blowing wide open. Her hand froze, open, and the crushed bits twirled to the ground. Catra stared down at her feet, her tail whizzing left and right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without a second thought, Catra dropped down onto the bag, tearing it open and spilling it everywhere, and then she rolled and twisted and promptly blacked out. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Where’s Catra?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora stopped scowling at Sea Hawk and turned to Perfuma, who had Scorpia on her arm. She was absolutely beautiful in a light blue dress and pretty flowers woven into her hair. Scorpia was dressed similarly, and Adora thought she looked wonderful with her own flower crown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, she went off somewhere,” she answered. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma frowned slightly. “No worries, I just wanted to warn you guys to stay away from my greenhouse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your greenhouse?” Adora distractedly tapped her fingers against Catra’s empty cup. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been experimenting with some new plants,” Perfuma explained. “You’ve brought back so many new ones, and I just found a species that I think I could turn into something medicinal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scorpia nodded excitedly. “Yeah, it smells really nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It has... </span>
  <em>
    <span>relaxing,</span>
  </em>
  <span> properties,” Perfuma added. “But again, I’m not done and can’t know the side effects.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of side effects,” Scorpia began, her face bright with excitement, “I heard once that the reason the magicats were defeated—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora spotted Catra at the edge of the crowd, and she waved in dismissal before she darted away. Scorpia just turned and continued telling Perfuma, who seemed very engrossed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora frowned, worried. Catra was standing by the drink table, but she looked very rumpled. There were bits of green </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> in her fur and were those... leaves? Catra didn’t respond to her voice, just kept staring with wide eyes into the nearby fountain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra?” Adora repeated. She reached out to touch Catra, and then it all happened so quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was as if she had just switched Catra on. She went from standing there zoned out, to suddenly dropping onto all fours and then zooming away. People had to leap out of the way, and then she made it to the nearby tent, scaled the one pole and somersaulted off of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra!?” Adora yelled, her mouth popped open, eyes wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra, once again, ignored her. She darted right for a bunch of birds pecking at the ground nearby, still on all fours, but they scattered before she could catch them. She rolled around on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora ran over. People were starting to stare, especially when Catra planted her feet against the tree and then pushed away from it, sliding across the ground quite a distance away. Adora ran after her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra, what the hell are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grabbed her around the waist, but Catra turned into liquid and just dripped out of her grip. She rolled away and got back onto her feet, and when she looked up at Adora’s face her pupils were blown so wide they took up her whole eyes. She looked completely out of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra!” Perfuma yelled, running over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, she must have found it!” Scorpia added. “I told you I think it’s that plant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma huffed. “Exactly why I wanted to warn them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra ran off and started batting at someone’s dress, then she was distracted by another bird and raced after it. Perfuma and Scorpia stopped at her side, breathing hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She found my greenhouse,” Perfuma told her, “and she got into my bag of crushed herbs. I was going to try and make a powder from them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Except, they’re like, magicat herbs,” Scorpia added. “There’s this story that the magicats were conquered because this herb made them so high they started running around or just sleeping instead of fighting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora stared at them. “Are you telling me Catra is high right now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Solemnly, Perfuma and Scorpia nodded. “I’m so sorry, Adora.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We better get her inside before she hurts herself,” Scorpia said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra ran full force into the tent again, this time scaling the fabric side and causing it to collapse. People inside started screaming but Catra just started batting at their squirming bodies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or before she hurts others,” Adora sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran over to Catra again, but she was so damn fast and just slipped out of her grasp. Scorpia and Perfuma tried as well, but all they did was get Catra riled up again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How does she do that?” Adora yelled, rasping on tired breaths. She hadn’t needed to exert herself this much in a long time, not since Horde Prime.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the zoomies!” Scorpia yelled, almost grabbing hold of Catra but just missing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora sighed, inhaled deeply, then transformed into She-Ra. There was no way Catra could still evade her if she was She-Ra.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora was wrong, of course. At one point, Catra just completely vanished into thin air. Adora skidded to a half by the collapsed tent, where Glimmer was teleporting guests to safety.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora, are we under attack?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora shrugged. “It’s just Catra on drugs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bow straightened from the edge of the tent. “Wait, what? Drugs?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No time to explain!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She spotted Catra darting between panicking guests, and took off again. The other princesses started trying to help, but they only made things worse by using their powers. By the time it was over, the courtyard was filled with debrid and a minor fire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They found Catra in the fountain, asleep with her eyes open. She looked as though she was simply soaking in the sun and the water, but she was also just covered in leaves and dirt and what looked like various types of food. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora transformed back and approached her slowly. “Catra?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra actually was awake, even though she looked asleep, even with her eyes open. Her tail gave a lazy flick and her head rolled to the side, her now droopy eyes landing on Adora’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heeeeey Adora,” she slurred, smiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora let out a sigh of relief. “Will you stop running away from me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A little furrow formed between Catra’s brows. “I... wassss running?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She made it to the fountain and gently took Catra’s hand in hers. “Yeah, you got the zoomies. Can I pick you up and take you home?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra’s eyes glazed over and her head lolled back. Adora worried if she would get sick because of this, but all she could do was gather Catra into her arms and turn to everyone, sheepish.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, everyone,” she apologized. “I need to get her home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t wait and headed off, and luckily Catra didn’t do more than curl into her and purr the whole way home. Once in their room, Adora ran a bath and undressed them both. She had to help Catra in, then she started scrubbing her fur clean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re sticky,” she complained, pulling a face. “What did you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra made a disgruntled noise. “Why are you so loud?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora pressed into her. “Oh, are you sobering up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sobering up? What?” She glanced around them, seeming to finally realize they were in a bath. “Adora, what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora laughed. Now that they were safe, and Catra had her senses back, she couldn’t help but think about the past few hours and the amount of running around and swatting people Catra had done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She told her about the plant, about Perfuma’s warning and then everything after that. All Catra did was groan and turn to hide her face against Adora’s throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I blacked out,” she mumbled softly. “One second I was sniffing that weird plant, then I was in the fountain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora ran her fingers gently alone Catra’s side. “Well, I think it was a bit too intense. Perfuma said she was experimenting on that herb. Are you feeling okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra let out a long breath. “I ache everywhere, but I feel very relaxed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, she did say it has relaxing qualities.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t ever want to black out like that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agreed. I never knew you were so fast, or that your pupils could go so wide. Did you know that you were swatting people on the head? And you chewed on Frosta’s sleeve before she smacked you away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra groaned again. “They’re never going to let me live this down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Adora agreed, pressing a kiss to her brow, “and neither will I.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra pulled away slightly, frowning. “How could you betray me like this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora just laughed. “I’m sorry, it’s just so funny now that I know you’re okay. You turned into liquid, Catra. Every time I grabbed you, you just slid out between my fingers. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra shrugged. “It’s a magicat thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora started laughing again, and after a bit Catra joined in. This time, she didn’t freak out about the bath and let Adora get the dirt and food from her hair. She fell asleep at some point, still pretty zoned out from that plant. When she drifted awake again, Adora had already dried and set her down in bed. Catra made a soft noise that was almost like a mewl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Catra?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora,” she complained tearfully. “Hold me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s brows lifted. She didn’t hesitate and climbed into bed with her. She was in just her underwear, but Catra was nude and the feel of her body was as it always was, warm and comforting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catra curled into a ball against her chest, then she started to purr. Adora said nothing as Catra fell asleep. She was tempted to laugh a few times, but dared not disturb her sleeping kitty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Later, Perfuma announced that she called this new drug, Catranip. Catra was mortified, but everyone else found it fitting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, once Perfuma made a very mild version that wouldn’t cause such intense zoomies, Adora bought a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>You never know when you might need to convince your cat girlfriend to try a little bit of drugs, be a bit of a crackhead, and fall asleep face down on the kitchen floor.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm actually considering getting a cat at some point in the future, so I've been watching a ton of videos of cats on catnip and just being crackheads in general. I love the chaotic energy. 10/10. Thanks so much for reading, and I do hope that you enjoyed! As always, comments are really appreciated. I love and welcome all comments, and I respond to all of them!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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